I put my Halloween stuff out this weekend and my husband brought up Richard. This is his faaaa-vorite time of year, with pumpkin butter and pumpkin beer and the haunted house tours.....Of course Richard and Sal are never in the studio any more, so we'll never hear it. See, Sal and Richard are actually funny, and funny is no longer allowed in the studio. Only Shuli.

"Marketed as the only year-round horror attraction in Vegas -- the first of its kind -- the haunted hotel is the work of Eli Roth, the actor-writer-director who has built a career on low-budget, blood-drenched horror films such as "Hostel" and its sequel."

I love Halloween. It's a stupid holiday exhibiting the stupidity of holidays. In that way, it's the most self-aware holiday out there. And it doesn't necessarily involve uncomfortable family bullshit.

I've got a pumpkin-spice ale in secondary right now. Bottling in a week and a half. Got a pumpkin on the porch to carve this weekend. Will be getting a baking pumpkin for pie (I never had pumpkin pie till I baked a pumpkin and made pie out of it. . . . it's pretty amazing).

It's a beautiful time of the year. The electric bill is low. The windows can be open. The mornings start off with a chill and develop into a nice warmth during the day opposed to scorching heat. . . . it's a nice time of year.